This story takes place in an alternate Ranmaverse, where Akane
is a year younger than Ranma, and they have never met. Neither have
their families. There are no curses, no fiancées… All in all,
you should just totally forget what you know about our regular Ranmaverse.
This fic, however, does try to prove a point I'm particularly interested
in, in any universe… So expect OOC portrayals. If you're looking
for accurate characterizations, you won't find them here!

Editor's note: This story is unfinished; Pia is going to an Architectural
College right now and has her hands full. Not much time for writing!

Chapter One: I Merely Exist

Ranma was feeling busted. Not only he was late, but he'd also had
an awful time the night before trying to study for today's exam.
He hadn't managed to get much studying done at all, worrying that
he would not manage to learn so many things in such a short time.
Worse yet, he had fallen asleep over his desk. His back was killing
him now.

Even this early in the morning, he'd already had better days.

'Damn chemistry exam,' Ranma thought. 'I don't even need
the stupid subject. Like it has anything to do with teaching martial
arts.'

Still, he kept on running to meet his fate at the hands of an ugly
test.

'Damn chemistry.'

It was good that this year was graduation. Ranma already knew he
wanted to carry on his father's legacy and teach martial arts, so
his mother had advised him to go to college and get a physical education
degree.

'Only a few weeks to go, and school will be over.'

With this thought in mind, he ran the last two blocks and entered
the Furinkan High schoolyard with a minute to spare. Most of the
students were running towards the school building, but Ranma stopped
to watch the regular confusion that occurred at this time of day.

'My last year in this place,' Ranma thought. He was feeling
melancholy as he started to slowly walk towards the main building,
his book bag over his shoulder and one hand in his pocket.

'I'm gonna miss all this,' he thought as he looked over
the school grounds with a smile on his lips.

A significant part of his lifetime was coming to an end, and he
knew that it wasn't going to be easier when he made it to college.
Sometimes he thought he was still an immature boy, even if his mother
kept telling him that he seemed much older than he really was. She
said that he had a sense of honor no one his age had, and that he
was wise for an 18-year-old.

But then again, mothers always find their children exceptional.

With this mental wandering, he didn't notice a couple of girls
intently staring at him. But he did hear them giggling when he passed
by, and tried to ignore them as he always did.

Moments later, he entered his classroom.

Akane was sitting with her usual party under a tree, waiting for
classes to start. It was a warm, sunny day, and it was definitely
worth it to leave home a little bit earlier than usual. She didn't
know why, but she was feeling extremely refreshed today.

"So, Akane. What's it gonna really be like?"

Akane started. "What is what going to be like?"

"The yearbook. I thought you were on the planning staff."
Sayuri said.

"Oh, yeah. But it's going to be the same as last year. What
made you think it wouldn't?"

"I just heard that something was going to be different with
this year's seniors."

"Oh! You mean that!" Akane said, smiling.

"Huh?" Sayuri was confused.

"You see, the seniors made proposals for new activities before
they leave school this year, and the junior class is supposed to
organize everything. It's like a farewell party… sort of."

"You mean we have to do all the work?" said Yuka, disappointed.

"Yup." Akane nodded. "But I think it'll be fun.
We get to participate in everything, and if we're lucky the principal
might choose to make it a tradition."

"He'd better…" Sayuri added.

The last minute bell rang and Akane and her friends hurried to
their classroom.

Akane took her seat by a window. There was a single boy standing
quietly in the middle of the yard. She didn't recall having seen
him before.

'He's gonna get himself detention if he doesn't hurry,'
Akane thought absently. She then turned her attention to her teacher.

"… There's going to be a carnival in which the entire school
can participate, and the seniors have suggested that they want revenge
on some of the underclassman, so there's going to be a 'Senior Vengeance
Day'."

"A what?"

"'Senior Vengeance Day'. The senior class is going to publish
a list of people that need to be 'taken care of', as they put it.
All of the students will run the risk of getting soaked with water,
egg on their face, or vinegar in their hair…" The teacher
smiled evilly as he spoke.

"Are they allowed to do that?"

"This year, yes" the teacher replied, "And if everything
turns out okay, you'll have the same chance next year."

A general murmur could be heard all over the classroom.

Akane was silent. She already knew about it. There was going to
be an article on the yearbook highlighting the year-end activities.
She was certain she would be chosen to organize part of the carnival.
She always ended up getting picked for that sort of thing.

Since the confusion was general, Akane decided to let people in
on her opinion.

"It's supposed to be fun, kind of like a little war inside
the school. 'Senior Vengeance Day' sounds okay to me…" And
then she added with a grin, "Plus, classes will end earlier
that day"

Another murmur could be heard, a more positive one. Maybe she was
right; it could be fun playing "hide and seek" for a day.

"Okay! Quiet, everyone! I'm not finished, yet!" the teacher
demanded. "Let me explain it a little better. People mentioned
on the list will receive special treatment, but there are still
rules for this. There's gong to be a girls' list and a boy's list.
To put it simple, girls take care of girls, and boys take care of
boys. We don't want any misunderstandings here…"

Yet another murmur could be heard… a really disappointed one.
"Principal Kuno will shortly be announcing who in this class
will be part of the committee in charge of the carnival."

Akane wasn't surprised when she heard the wacko principal mention
her name a few minutes later on the Public Address system.

"Senior Vengeance Day?" Ranma asked, confused.

"Yeah," Daisuke said, "We get to kick butt this
year."

"Uh huh. Wait 'till I get my hands on that Gosunkugi guy,"
Hiroshi added with an evil look on his face.

Ranma continued to eat his lunch quietly as his friends spoke.

"I wonder, can we can go after any girls, too?"

"Nah… I don't think so. I bet the principal will forbid
that. You know how he is…" Ranma pointed out.

"How dull…" Hiroshi sounded disappointed.

"But you never know. Maybe we could get some damage done in
the general chaos…"

"What?! I just can't believe you! You're only THE most popular
guy in school… And you're telling me you don't feel like harassing
ANY girl at ALL?" Daisuke sounded hurt.

"Yeah, any girl would be glad if you picked her. You're just
an offense to us menfolk!" Hiroshi added.

"Oh! Come on, you guys! You haven't actually met any of them.
It's not like they really, REALLY like me, you know…" Ranma
said.

"What?!" "What?!" the other two yelled in disbelief.
Anyone could have easily fit a few apples in their overly hanging
mouths.

"They like the FACT that I like them 'cause it makes them
look good to other people… It's not like they really like ME…"
Ranma defended himself.

"Does it matter?!" "Does it matter?!" Any more
disturbed and they would have passed out from shock.

"It's just that… It's BORING, okay?!"

Ranma was starting to feel weird. His friends were becoming louder
by the second. He could feel the eyes turning in their direction.

"Does it matter?!" "Does it matter?!"

Ranma just sighed and turned his attention back to his bento.

"Oh, man! I wish I could kick YOUR butt instead of Gosunkugi’s!"
Hiroshi grabbed Ranma by his neck, and started punching him.

"Oh, yeah?! It'll be YOUR name in that list if you don't cut
that out!!" Ranma fought a little and was free again. He looked
suddenly murderous, "And you KNOW I can beat the crap out of
you!"

The other two backed away instantly and raised their hands in defeat.

"Fine! Be like that!" Hiroshi protested as he folded
his arms over his chest.

'Not a good idea to mess with him when he gets moody,' Daisuke
reminded himself as Ranma went back to eating.

"Good." Ranma relaxed. "Thank you."

"Yeah, whatever…" Hiroshi answered nonchalantly, and
added, "I still want to kick you for it, though."

"Yeah… You'll probably get laid WAY before we do!"
Daisuke said matter-of-factly.

"Hey!" Hiroshi protested, "Speak for yourself!"

And it went on and on and on…

Ranma sighed.

Now the topic would most likely drift to his experiences, which
his friends considered to be extensive. If they only knew…

And back to hitting and punching him again.

'This little play is getting old…' Ranma thought with
the slightest tinge of bitterness.

He was very uncomfortable with his friends' jealousy. It was nice
to have girls flirt with him, a real ego boost; and it sure as heck
felt like a little nuclear bomb in his chest when one didn't pay
attention when he wanted her to. What annoyed him was that none
of the girls ever really tried to get to know him, although he was
certain that if they did, they wouldn't flirt nearly as much.

It wasn't as if he was picky. The only thing he really wanted in
a girl was sincerity.

That and good looks. NATURAL good looks… but even that could
be set aside sometimes. Almost every girl he'd been around had been
worried about the way she moved, looked, and sounded. In general,
it wasn't such a bad thing for them to care about their appearance,
but they were so caught up in how they looked to him that he'd never
gotten to actually KNOW any of them. Ever since he first realized
that he liked girls (at age ten, or so) this seemingly simple thing
had seemed to avoid him.

Maybe he needed a change of pace. Going to college would help;
so far he'd been meeting the same people over and over, in the same
old places. Away from home, he might be able to meet people with
similar hobbies, and maybe some interesting new girls, too. Not
that he was desperate to find someone; he just felt so lonely sometimes…

He suddenly felt a pair of eyes staring intently at him…

"Yeah, Akane! Since you're in on organizing this, you better
team us up with some of the cute guys!" Sayuri giggled.

"She's right!" Yuka added.

Akane didn't answer. She wasn't even listening. Her mind had wandered
far away from them.

She would be very busy until the carnival was over, but she wasn't
worried about it. There were lots of other people in on the festival
organization, and some of the seniors had volunteered to help out
after all. She usually wound up in charge of the committees she
was picked for, but since there were seniors involved this time,
they would probably be chosen as the leaders instead.

It kind of bugged her that she always seemed to be responsible
for everything, but she had to admit that it was her own fault.
Whenever the task at hand was difficult, she got impatient when
other people didn't pay attention to the job. In the end, she always
figured she could handle it better. While it was stupid for her
to act like people wouldn't be able to handle something as well
as she could, she just couldn't seem to stop herself. It was a fault
in her personality, and she hated herself for it.

She tried to shake off her moodiness. Akane needed to be thinking
of different games and booths to put up for the carnival. The first
meeting was going to be right after school and she had to have some
ideas. Maybe one of those dunking tanks, and a goldfish-catching
booth? They would need some competitions, too. A 'who can eat the
most' contest was always fun…

It was definitively going to take a long time to put things together,
time that they did not have. That meant putting in lots of extra
work hours to finish up on schedule.

On reflection, she thanked Kami that the seniors would most likely
bear the responsibility. Even with all the people they had to help,
this would be hard to pull off if they didn't get organized.

Her mind wandered to thoughts of the senior class. What would it
be like, to leave school forever? Something about the idea disturbed
her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Still, in a few
weeks she would be a senior herself, and really feel what it was
like to know that in a year school would be over for good.

Akane's eyes drifted over the different people having lunch in
the yard, looking for seniors. She spotted a couple of girls talking
and laughing. The seemed like grown women to her, except for the
school uniforms they were wearing. Somehow, Akane couldn't picture
herself as an adult. Ever since she was little she had watched the
older girls on their way to school. She had always marveled at how
'grownup' they looked. Now that she was that age, she still thought
she still had a long way to go before she looked like those girls.

But guys… now THAT was a different matter.

'Especially THOSE two…' she thought as her eyes fell upon
a couple of boys laughing at a third one's… quietness? It seemed
his attention was somewhere far away. There was something very out
of place.

It was almost as if the other two looked even more childish sitting
next to that red-shirted guy…

'Red shirt…?' Akane thought. She took a closer look.

Wow. He wasn't even wearing a school uniform! Instead, he had a
Chinese-looking outfit on, and he had a pigtail instead of the regulation
haircut the principle insisted on.

'He was the one who was late this morning,' the back of
her mind told her. Akane thought it strange that she hadn't noticed
him before, considering his clothing made him stand out so much.
She should have been more observant than that; and there was another
thing that she should have noticed right off

'He's really handsome!'

He was eating very slowly, which made him seem more distant, as
if he was so busy thinking that he didn't really know what his body
was doing.

Then he spoke a few words, and the other two yelled something at
him, then he spoke again, and the others yelled again. If she hadn't
been so busy looking at him, she might have been able to make out
the words, but she didn't really care. Akane was mesmerized.

They made a strange picture, actually.

One of the boys started punching and hitting him. The aggressor's
face was distorted by the incredible amount of words that were coming
out of his mouth. The third boy just couldn't stop laughing. He
had to lay his upper half on the table to keep from falling from
the bench. His face was all red. Akane could only guess from some
of the words she could make out, they were talking about girls.
And they weren't exactly nice comments. Boy simply couldn't take
their minds off the gutter, and they seemed to get worse with age.

'Not this one, though…'

Akane found herself feeling strangely glad that the red shirt boy
wasn't laughing his head off at his friend's speech. Instead, he
just answered a few words every now and then and shrugged his shoulders.
More than anything, it looked like he was uncomfortable with the
situation

'Yup… definitely better than those two…'

Suddenly his blue eyes turned to her. Akane felt a little lurch
in her stomach, but she couldn't look away. She felt a sudden urge
to go talk to him, to ask him what had him so distracted…

"Hey, Akane! Are you even listening?"

Akane nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Huh? Oh… sorry…" she whispered, and returned her
attention to the boy, who hadn't looked away.

Yuka and Sayuri looked at each other and then followed Akane's
gaze, trying to figure out what was it that could grab Akane's attention
so effectively.

She was looking at a cute guy some twelve yards away, and he was
looking right back at her. Both girls started to giggle.